"Deadcrush" is a song by British

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band alt-J. It is the fifth track and fourth single from their third studio album, ''

Relaxer A relaxer is a type of lotion or cream generally used by people with tight curls or very curly hair which makes hair easier to hair straightening, straighten by chemically "relaxing" the natural curls. The active agent is usually a strong alkali, a ...

'', and was released as a digital single on 12 July 2017 by

Infectious Music Infectious Music is an independent record label owned by BMG, whose bands have included Alt-J, Ash and The Subways. History Infectious Music was established in 1993 as Infectious Records by former Zerra One drummer Korda Marshall after lea ...

and Atlantic Records. The song was written by Joe Newman, Gus Unger-Hamiltion, and

Thom Sonny Green Thomas Stuart Green (born November 5, 1985), known professionally as Thom Sonny Green, is an English drummer and electronic music producer. Green attended Leeds University, where he met the musicians with whom he would found the band Alt-J ...

and produced by

Charlie Andrew Charles Andrew, (born 1980) is a British record producer, mixer and songwriter. He is best known for his work with indie band Alt-J. In 2013 he was awarded 'Breakthrough Producer of the Year' by his peers at Music Producers Guild awards, in ...

. The song's title is based on a game the band played where they asked the question, "What historical figure would I want to take on a date if she were alive today?", and so the name "Deadcrush" is based on someone's "dead crush". It features vocals from Ellie Rowsell of

Wolf Alice Wolf Alice are an English rock band from London, England. Formed in 2010 as an acoustic duo comprising singer Ellie Rowsell and guitarist Joff Oddie, Wolf Alice have also featured bassist Theo Ellis and drummer Joel Amey since 2012. Wolf Ali ...

. The song was also featured in the soundtrack for ''

FIFA 18 ''FIFA 18'' is a football simulation video game developed and published by Electronic Arts and released worldwide on 29 September 2017 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. It is the ...

''.

Composition and lyrics

In an interview with

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, the band said:

Music video

A music video for the song was released on 12 July 2017. It was directed by Young Replicant, who also directed the music video for " 3WW". It features the band's "dead crushes":

Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath (; October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for two of her published collections, '' Th ...

Lee Miller Elizabeth "Lee" Miller, Lady Penrose (April 23, 1907 – July 21, 1977), was an American photographer and photojournalist. She was a fashion model in New York City in the 1920s before going to Paris, where she became a fashion and fine art ...

, and

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key ...

teaming up in a post-apocalyptic world.

Official video

The choreography was designed by Darcy Wallace, performed by Leah Marojević, Alana Everett and Natalia Iwaniec.

Live performances

The band performed "Deadcrush" at the 2017

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

ceremony at the

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London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on 14 September 2017. ''Relaxer'' was shortlisted for the prize.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal

alt-J

*Joe Newman – guitar, vocals *Gus Unger-Hamilton – keyboards, vocals *

– drums, percussion, programming

Additional musicians

London Metropolitan Orchestra The culture of London concerns the music, museums, festivals and lifestyle within London, the capital city of the United Kingdom. London has frequently been described as a global cultural capital and is one of the world's leading business cent ...

– strings * Ellie Rowsell – vocals

Technical

*Charlie Andrew – production, mixing, engineering, programming *Brett Cox – engineering *Jay Pocknell - engineering *Stefano Civetta – assistant engineering *Paul Pritchard – assistant engineering *Graeme Baldwin – assistant engineering *Dick Beetham – mastering

Artwork and design

Osamu Sato is a Japanese digital artist, photographer, and composer. His first work was the ambient music album "Objectless", which released in 1983. His first work in the video game industry The video game industry encompasses the development, ma ...

Charts

Certifications

''Deadcrushed''

Four remixes of "Deadcrush", by

Spike Stent Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & The Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed Sh ...

, Ben de Vries, Lea Porcelain, and Salute, were individually released by alt-J as digital singles in August 2017. A collection of the remix singles, excluding the remix by

, was released as an EP on 27 September 2017 with additional remixes by Damian Lazarus, Otzeki, Miro Shot, and Vesica.

References

{{authority control 2017 singles Alt-J songs 2017 songs Infectious Music singles Atlantic Records singles Songs written by Thom Sonny Green